Searching for a Purpose
by Kirlial
Summary: What if only Sadness fell from the emotion's headquarters and Joy stayed above?
1. Falling

She clasped the deep blue orb close to her chest, feeling it's deep importance even as Joy scrambled around the floor for the other core memories.

There was a frantic sort of energy in the headquarters. Disgust, fear and anger seemed unsure whether to watch Riley's vision or the Core memories spilling across the floor. Sadness ignored the atmosphere, knowing that Joy was more than capable of keeping control.

The simple mechanism before Sadness seemed somehow compelling and she knew this new core memory belonged in it - for it was part of who Riley was, this memory would grow to shape her very identity. It held the same importance as all her other core memories.

And yet as she sidled forward, she found herself hesitating for it would certainly fluster Joy and Sadness never wanted to upset her. It wasn't just because Joy was their leader either meaning she was obliged to work with her - she simply never wished misery on others.

Nevertheless, ignoring the chaos around her she gently pressed the blue orb forward, towards an open slot in the machine, for Riley needed to remember this day. It was a milestone in her life - the day she moved to a new city, a scary day.

A sudden fierce grip dug into her shoulder and she felt a slender body press against her back as a glowing golden arm struck her orb, knocking it out of her arms. Sadness froze, and turned to meet Joy's diligent blue eyes.

Joy had cast away the new core memory, not allowing it a place with her precious yellow memories. Sadness trembled slightly, seeing Joy looking so tired and anxious. As usual, Sadness was just getting in the way. And at such a critical time too, with the centre in such disarray and Riley so vulnerable.

Even now, Joy's eyes weren't condemning. Joy wasn't ever truly angry, at most she got stressed and a little annoyed and flustered. But Sadness thought she detected a hint of tired resignation in her steely expression too.

Joy broke her gaze and released her heavy grip on Sadness's shoulder. Indeed, she jumped away and began to collect the shimmering golden Core memories still scattered in all directions with the kind of vigour that Sadness could never manage. Joy was like a golden whirlwind as she dashed and ducked.

But the new Core memory was now rolling away, ignored by Joy and the others,who were merely observing. It seemed it was her duty to take care of it then. She shifted towards it, taking care to be quiet and stay out of Joy's way.

The memory didn't roll too far fortunately. Sadness swiftly grabbed it. Should she try to place it in the machine once more? She glanced at their vision, where Riley was still in turmoil. Would Riley want a memory tainted with Sadness? Should she follow Joy in this matter?

"Sadness don't!" Joy snapped, frowning deeply as she noticed her holding the precious blue orb.

Joy was looking down at the orb anxiously, her arms somehow grasping several golden orbs at once. Sadness trembled again nervously and her fumbling hands let the very smooth orb slip through her fingers under Joy's scrutiny.

Alarmed at her clumsiness, Sadness launched herself at it, seeing a large glass tube ready to suck it away. She couldn't let it be lost, it was too important for Riley!

She curled herself around the orb, blocking the suction of the tube with her own body. She heard nothing but the sound of wind whistling in her ears, for it was immensely powerful.

The tube was relentless in its task of retrieval however. To her horror, Sadness found herself being lifted from the ground, even as she clung to the Core Memory. First her hair began pulling at her scalp and then her neck too was strained. Soon though, the wind had enveloped her whole person and she was harshly pulled upwards.

It was so powerful that it seemed an instant before she was looking at Joy's startled face through glass, still holding the other orbs. She didn't dare stretch out a limb given her tenuous grip on the orb and therefore nothing prevented her assent. Joy too was soon gone from her sight as Sadness was tossed and turned as the tube seemed to pull her further and further away.

Why did it it twist and turn so? The control centre was soon far above her as she was pulled down, gravity now her enemy. When would it release her?

The ground inevitably rose up to meet her though. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact.

* * *

 **Short first chapter. I loved inside out, it really pulled at my heartstrings. Of course, Pixar always makes great movies. My favourite characters were definitely Sadness and Joy. I hope I presented them both okay so far. Rest assured that I'm not trying to be too harsh to Joy, though she can be a little bossy while Sadness is a little insecure.**

 **Feel free to review as I'd love some feedback. Another update will be soon!**


	2. Fallen

**Hey there, thanks for the positive response, I'm glad this got a little interest. Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

She lay face down on the ground, no desire to move. Inside the labyrinth of deep memories it was perfectly possible that no one would pass by for weeks.

Somehow it seemed almost right that she should fall down, where she wouldn't be a nuisance any longer. She thought of Joy and how stressed she could get when Sadness interfered with her operation. Well, she couldn't ruin anything down here.

She'd probably struggle to find her way back so perhaps it wasn't really worth trying anyway. All those books she'd had the pleasure to read would help her navigate but what if she made a mistake? What if she stayed down here so long that the long-term memories she recognised just moved or disappeared? The mind was ever-changing after all.

Sadness blinked back a few tears, not that anyone would hear her cry. She didn't want to be lost forever. It would mean she'd never see Riley again, never see her create new memories. Never see her grow up.

...maybe that was for the best though. It wasn't like she'd ever fit in with the other emotions. She hated always having to apologise to Joy for failing. Down here she couldn't fail any more. Even if it would be very lonely.

Sadness curled up further in a little ball on the hard floor, feeling more tears form. Was this her fate? Had she always been so afraid of being alone? Being alone wasn't that different from being ignored or pushed away all the time, so why should it hurt so much?

Sadness attempted to reign in her somewhat fatalistic attitude. She wasn't lost yet after all. Maybe she could find comfort at honest island? It had always been her favourite island for she held truth in the greatest esteem, even if it sometimes hurt to be honest. Still, she wouldn't run away from the truth. Not even the truth was that she was unwanted by anyone.

She was _unwanted_. The cold thought washed through her like a rusty knife. But could she pretend that she'd be missed by the others?

Sadness didn't know for how long she just laid there alone. For a long while she saw no reason to move. She heard no one approach her, and part of her felt glad. She couldn't burden others with her problems, it wasn't like they'd be able to help. All she could do was add to their misery.

Eventually though, she struggled to her feet and grimly looked around. Dully, she noted the long-term memories around her. She was even farther from headquarters than she'd expected, for the memories around her seemed to be from when Riley was just four years old or so (not that Riley was much good at telling apart the age of her memories).

She gently rubbed her eyes, hoping to clear away any indicator of her inner distress. Her problems wouldn't simply go away if she continued to brood over them on the ground.

Sadness stared intently at the plethora of happy memories around her, intrigued for she'd never been down this far before. An academic interest in memories had always been an excellent distraction from her problems. Strangely some memories that had been of fear and anger appeared to have faded to a light yellow of joy and happiness.

Sadness had read about this phenomenon before in some of the dry manuals back at headquarters. Overtime, some memories lost their sting of negative emotions, even things that were scary or unpleasant at the time became fondly remembered. It seemed that those books were correct.

She cautiously approached the wall of glistening orbs and brushed a hand against one of the memories filled with joy, wondering why it took on a deep blue hue. The incident back at the HQ was not just a one-off then. It seemed that memories which were once happy could become sad too.

She glanced at the orb still in her other hand, almost forgotten though it was main reason she'd fallen down in the first place. She couldn't regret running after it though. The core memory was precious and she had a responsibility to keep it safe.

She held it up, close to her face, witnessing the turmoil Riley felt at moving house and seeing the things she cared about left behind. It was most definitely an important memory but it was practically useless down here with all the deeper memories that would make only very subtle impressions on Riley.

Sadness tightened her grip on the orb. She would have to return in order to return the orb - if it was for Riley then she had to try - even if she might fail. She thought it unlikely that she'd make the others proud but she'd do her best to avoid disappointment.

Turning away from the towering shelves, Sadness took a step forward. She quirked her lips into a tiny smile; it felt good to make a decision. Her first step was soon followed by many more as she began her journey back.

* * *

 _Back at base_

"Alright, school was good guys, right?" Joy said, forcing a large grin as she glanced at her coworkers.

"Sadness is missing," Disgust pointed out, in her usual uncaring tone. "And Riley is stuck with the new girl label."

"We're all worried about Sadness," Joy agreed quickly. "But at least Riley is still coping with the move - I think she'll grow to like her new school. And her new home."

No one contradicted her, they truly wanted Riley to be safe and happy. For a few moments they watched their screen quietly, absorbing Riley's fairly calm walk home.

"Watch out! Watch out!" Fear called out, making sure Riley crossed the road carefully.

Fear's response to oncoming roads was fairly normal however. Walking home from school was a rather familiar routine and Joy thought they all appreciated it. It gave her hope that things would soon settle down.

Joy glanced behind her at the core memories, which had all been placed back and still glowed brightly. Beyond their headquarters the islands seemed to be functioning too, apparently not badly affected from nearly being lost earlier.

Still, she felt a little in edge. There had been very few joyful memories all day as much as Joy tried to keep spirits up. This move was practically a living nightmare at this point.

"Approaching home, a little anger at sight of the new residence," anger reported, interrupting her thoughts.

She swiftly turned back to the screen, sliding in front of anger. She put some of her own pressure on the main button. "Joy at thought of seeing her parents again," she supplied.

"But her parents were both going to be late," fear said with his characteristic fright, effectively killing any of her joy.

"Oh, right." Joy gave a nervous laugh. "Uh, some joy at getting to relax then?"

"Anger at the fact that the moving truck still hasn't arrived!" Indeed, the house looked very bare as Riley opened the front door.

"Please guys, we need to stay positive alright?" Joy asked, and at three reluctant nods she continued. "Riley can use her laptop to contact her friends, right?"

A part of Joy couldn't help but be slightly relieved that Sadness was not currently present, though she hoped the meek emotion was alright. Riley would not be able to deal with much sadness on top of everything else.

Obviously they couldn't exactly just let Sadness remain lost but it wasn't like there was all that much they could do way up in the HQ. Despite Having a great amount of influence with Riley, the emotions didn't garner all that much respect from other mind workers so it was unlikely a huge search would begin purely because they asked.

Joy was drawn out of her thoughts as Riley heaved a large sigh as she observed her empty new house. Joy quickly tried to lift her mood, with a focus on Riley's friends.

Behind her, she heard movement coming from friendship isle. That meant it was being activated and Riley was thinking of her friends. Excellent.

However a glance at a conveyer belt to the side revealed that no new joyful memories were being created as Riley began to turn on her computer. It meant that the happiness she felt now was only fleeting, it was lacking somehow, though her feelings of friendship were as strong as ever.

Joy couldn't work out precisely what was awry. She didn't dwell on it though, confident that it was nothing to worry over.

* * *

 **Right, that was the chapter. I'm not sure if I got the right level of angst with Sadness, she's rather hard to read in the movie. I prefer writing cheerful characters, I think too.**

 **Not much else to add, but thanks for reading and please do take a moment to leave a review - they're really appreciated.**


	3. Discarded Dreams

**Thanks for such an encouraging response! I'm starting to delve into the realms of originality now, hope you guys like it.**

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She meandered through the maze of high shelves finding no real sense of urgency. It seemed strangely pleasant and peaceful walking at her own pace through the fancy architecture that made up the mind so she didn't hurry.

Truth be told, she still had doubts about returning. Or rather, the kind of reception she'd receive. While Joy would undoubtedly act pleased and thankful, she'd probably send her to stand in that loathsome circle of Sadness to be dormant again.

While Sadness was resolute in returning for Riley, she wasn't going to hurry to get there, fairly confident that the other emotions could keep things under control. This misadventure could turn into her own little holiday if she took her time.

Sadness found the path she had been drifting down branched in a few different directions. She paused, staring at each path intently. She was able to recognise two of them from information from her books; she had reached the memories from the age where Riley began school so one section would be her memories at school, the other at home, and these paths were both brightly lit.

The other path to the far right was a little mysterious, shrouded in darkness as it was. She could faintly make out it turning again very quickly and she sensed that it would be a winding, nonsensical path somehow. A few stray orbs had fallen on the ground on that route, suggesting it was neglected.

Sadness took a hesitant step forward without committing to any direction. She was intrigued by the mysterious path but it'd be the sensible thing to take one she knew. The home path to get to family island.

But a little look wouldn't hurt, right? She crept towards the dark, narrow path and, a little apprehensive, took another step forward so she was in the darkened tunnel. And tunnel seemed to be the right word, for a quick glance upwards showed low hanging stone rather than the twinkling lights of the HQ far above.

Why should this path need a roof when the others didn't? It was like it was hiding something and she couldn't begin to guess at what. And given how the tunnel appeared to quickly twist out of sight, she'd have to venture further into the darkness to find out what.

Sadness couldn't deny some fascination with the mystery, yet she also couldn't ignore the prickling feeling on the back of her neck. She had a mission to do and this was most assuredly a distraction. She might well regret walking into the unknown.

As she weighed her options in the mouth of the strange tunnel, footsteps echoed behind her. There was another person around at long last! She turned around eagerly, hoping for someone kind.

Ah, it was one of the mind workers. Mind workers were easy to identify with their rounded red bodies that reminded Sadness of potatoes (not that she'd ever tell them so). Well, he might be able to help her, it was his job to know these lower hallways after all.

Sadness approached him but she was mortified to realise that he hadn't noticed her, absorbed in some sort of manual as he passed by. She wishes she'd thought to make her footsteps louder so she'd have his attention.

Now what? She only had a minute before he'd be gone but how did one go about speaking or grabbing attention? Perhaps she ought to make a lot of noise so he'd look over and maybe greet her? She could try walking in front of him but what if that made her look strange and get him to give her an irritated look? Or she could try mumbling out a greeting herself but what if she didn't speak loud enough and he ignored her, and then she'd have to speak louder and feel stupid. How did one phrase a casual greeting in the first place?

Fortunately, the worker was kind enough to look up and glance around then, rescuing her from her dilemma. He noticed her and scowled slightly at her presence and stopped and everything!

"What business do yeh have down 'ere?" The worker asked with an impatient frown.

"I-I'm Sadness. I was uh, wondering what this tunnel was?" She managed a reply.

His eyes widened at her name, so he obviously recognised it. His expression quickly smoothed over however as he too looked over at the dark tunnel.

Then he smirked. "Why miss Sadnesss, you've caught me on a day were me schedule is fairly light so what do ye say to a quick guided tour of the place?"

The offer took her by surprise. She did not, in fact, know the right words to reject such an offer and she was still curious besides so quickly mumbled out an affirmative.

"Well then, allow me to accompany you through the discarded dreams," he said gesturing forward, placing the book he'd been reading in a satchel.

"Discarded dreams," Sadness echoed softly, into the gloom as she followed him into the darkness.

Her foot brushed against one of the abandoned orbs on the ground and she felt another twinge on the back of her neck. She strengthened her grip on the glowing blue orb in her hand, wondering if it were not too late to back out. Already she was certain that this would not be a pleasant trip.

"'Name's O Rly by the way," her companion said, his voice sounded far too relaxed.

"Pleasure to meet you," Sadness felt obliged to reply at the odd name as they turned sharply to the right until the entrance was way out of sight.

Sadness was gratified to see that there were still plenty of little round lights placed strategically on the shelves that still ran down both walls though they seemed to lack an orderly line of orbs; indeed the shelves looked very disorganised and even to be cracked and broken in places.

For some reason, the light remained very limited so Sadness had to walk up to a shelf to examine the assortment of stuff more closely. She saw thick books, little scraps of paper, ribbons, many more dim orbs, glasses, a piece of broccoli, a pillow, lights. It was an utterly random assortment and a great deal was broken.

She looked back at her guide, silently asking for some sort of explanation. What were discarded dreams? How did it relate to this stuff?

"That's all junk that meant something but doesn't now," O Rly explained unhelpfully.

"Hmm?"

"Basically discarded dreams are ideas and dreams that Riley once had and wanted to work towards but has since given up on them," he continued in a more sombre tone.

"Oh wow," Sadness exclaimed, gazing at the stuff with more intensity, trying to find meaning in it.

"This place is kept alive for curiosity I think, like a lot of them represent possible paths that Riley could have taken in her life but didn't and I'm sure some of them might become past regrets or little fantasies if Riley ever remembers. They can't ever be more than that though."

Sadness nodded. It was so easy to feel sad in a place like this, she found. All these things could have meant something to Riley, maybe even as much as ice hockey, a core memory yet instead they meant absolutely nothing.

She examined the items again. Here, a pink ribbon was young Riley's little dream of being a ballerina. Indeed a tiny pair of ballet shoes laid next to the ribbon. After one lesson when she was younger, Riley had lost interest, seeing how much work it would take to become really good.

The broccoli dream had been conjured up when Riley had seriously detested the vegetable. Something about actively trying to destroy any piece of broccoli she saw. Fortunately these days she didn't care nearly as much, having learnt some toleration.

"Strange place, no?" O Rly broke into her thoughts, clearly not so perturbed by all the things.

"It's a sad place," Sadness uttered, turning away from the shelves.

She paused, trying to express her thoughts. "I think.,. Riley ought to be sad though, not me," she added.

O Rly shrugged, walking forward. "You'd know more that than I would, miss Sadness," he replied.

They walked forward in silence and part of Sadness was glad it was so dim because it meant she couldn't make out many of the objects on the shelves or littering the floor. Still, she couldn't help looking intently at everything she could see. A daisy chain, an autograph, a long dress, a broken clock, a bag of newspapers, all came with little stories and potential.

Sadness heaved a long sigh, looking back at her companion. She was fervently glad she hadn't gone in alone, it'd be wrong somehow to walk among all this stuff without knowing what any of it meant. It was nice of O Rly to use some of his spare time for it though she felt a hint of worry at the idea of attempting to say thank you.

"Yeh don't need to be all forlorn about all the junk, this tunnel isn't really all that long, you know. Riley's pretty happy, see?" O Rly offered. "We're approaching the last bend right about now actually."

"Th-thanks," she stuttered quickly.

She followed him round the last of several rather redundant twists and froze. A large glittering object lay before her. She blinked at the sudden light after so much darkness. One that really ought to be far away from such a place.

"That's Minnesota!" She exclaimed, horrified.

* * *

 **That's all for now.**

 **Now, in theory, Sadness could actually return to base pretty quickly. With Joy holding the fort up at the HQ and most of the core memories retained, much of the problems in the movie would be avoided as the islands are not exactly going to crumble so quickly. Seeing as I want to write a fresh and interesting story, that means sadness can't just waltz right back up. Rule of Drama trumps logic because the logical thing is boring essentially.**

 **Still, do tell me how I did with this chapter, and with Sadness. I really appreciate any comments you have! Next time I'll have her wander into the Well of Lost Plots! (okay I probably won't unless I want to get really meta, that could be a whole fanfic on its own).**


	4. Tough Decisions

**Hey there, a big thanks for all those reviews. Twenty! Can you believe it? So thankful for the support this has received. Also a bunch of follows and favourites. Anyway here's the latest chapter.**

* * *

The glowing collection of buildings and streets was unmistakeable. Parts of Minnesota Riley hadn't known well were smaller and slightly blurred, while the streets she knew best were sharp and striking. The pond where Riley frequently skates on in the winter looked particularly prominent and Riley's old house seemed pretty and inviting.

It was painfully confusing, wondering why Riley's Minnesota was down here. Yes, it had been left behind but surely it wasn't like a half-formed dream. Riley's life had been defined there.

With effort, Sadness tore her eyes away from the shining city and looked once more at the plethora of other objects on, or around, the shelves. All the other things seemed old and worn, because they'd slowly faded out of memory. So how could the city Riley had only just left deserve a place in the discarded dreams?

Probably guessing the direction of her thoughts, O Rly spoke up reassuringly. "I wouldn't worry about it, you know? It's probably only temporary placement, that can happen, you see?"

Frankly, she didn't see what he was on about. "What does that mean then?" Her voice was impressively detached, she thought.

He shrugged. "I guess she's probably just putting it out o' her mind, like ignoring it or something. Pretty similar to plain old forgetting, I reckon."

"Leading it to end up here," Sadness muttered, her eyes once more drawn to the replica of Minnesota.

"But it's... not right. She can't just be ignoring half her life just because it's painful. She can't just... dismiss it all," Sadness said, putting her face in her arms, for comfort.

"It's probably easier though," O Rly remarked, sounding almost uninterested. "Either way, it's probably only temporary, right?"

Sadness took a moment to breathe in deeply, bringing order to her scattered thoughts. She has to try and be rational, not get caught up brooding at a critical time. She had to work out what Minnesota's presence in the discarded dreams really meant and what she was going to do about it.

"I suppose that Riley must still be distressed about the move," Sadness said carefully. "This clearly indicates such."

"Not really a surprise neither," O Rly agreed. "Let's get out of here though, it's kind of depressing, I think." He added gesturing ahead.

Sadness nodded, allowing him to grab her arm and lead her towards a final turn, beyond which light could be seen streaming in. She let a comfortable silence fall, absorbed in her own thoughts.

She was pretty sure that Minnesota was being forgotten deliberately because it was painful to think about for Riley. This probably indicated that she still remained at odds with her new life in San Francisco.

The azure core memory felt warm in her hand, having been carried all day. It was still very important if Riley was still struggling with the move. Of course, Sadness did worry that taking it back might just hurt Riley more. Perhaps she was helping by keeping her distance?

Sadness relaxed slightly as she left behind the tunnel of Discarded dreams, and once more found herself among the orderly shelves of orbs. It had been unsettling, walking through there. And it had probably made everything seem far worse than it really was.

"So, shall I be leaving you to all your thoughts? There's probably work for me o' course," O Rly asked, shifting noncommittally next to her.

She gave him her full attention, for she was expected to say something. But honestly, she didn't want to be left alone again for she feared it'd lead to her doing nothing. How did one request another to stay, especially when they didn't really know each other well?

"You... don't have to go. I mean, I'd appreciate it - just don't feel obliged or anything!" Sadness blurted out quickly. Why did his face have to be so unreadable?

To her relief, his face broke out into a large grin. "I'll bet my superiors won't find fault with me being Sadness' guide. Really they ought to be paying me even," he replied, looking oddly proud of himself.

Sadness quirked her lips into what she hoped was a little smile in response. "Hopefully," she agreed.

There was a pause. "Though where are we going? Or rather, planning on going?" O Rly asked, for they'd just been standing by the tunnel entrance for more than a minute now.

Sadness didn't have an answer for him. It was so easy to dread returning when she knew that the situation was bad. She really didn't want to make things worse, as always.

"Well?" He prompted.

"I should..." Sadness began before trailing off as a definite answer eluded her.

O Rly sighed. "I guess you could go back to your HQ place for the night if you're unsure, don't know what else you're expecting to find down here, if I'm honest."

"Yes, I should," Sadness accepted though her doubts kept her frozen, staring into space.

O Rly shifted uncomfortably once more. "Let's head over to the station then, if you're alright travelling at the speed of thought?" He suggested.

"Right," she said.

Another pause. Then O Rly turned around and slowly began making his way down one of the brightly lit hallways. Sadness found herself following him without really having made any sort of decision on what to do.

Either way she was heading towards a train to the HQ, like the choice had been made for her.

* * *

 _Back at HQ_

"Happiness at fact that the moving van will be only another day," Joy tried, hoping to coax a happy memory out of poor Riley.

"Anger at the fact that it's not here already!" Anger cut in hotly.

As was fast becoming a pattern, the anger overpowered any happiness Riley might have felt. She watched as Riley got up already in a huff and furiously smacked her left hand against one of the walls.

"Fear!" Joy chided, for it was his job to stop Riley from hurting herself by being careless.

"Sorry! She did it all so fast and without thinking - there was nothing I could do," he replied defensively.

She turned towards the bulky red emotion. "Well Anger then! Don't let Riley hurt herself."

He was sadly unrepentant. "Riley's got all this aggression and no way to use it," he pointed out, even as Riley seemed to become even more furious at her now aching hand.

"You're allowing her to get too angry and she really doesn't need all that fury right now," Joy snapped, surprised at her own harsh delivery.

"Well you can hardly expect her to be really happy right now, what with this terrible move!" He retorted, not one to back down from a fight.

Joy just sighed, wishing that wasn't the truth. She watched quietly as Riley dressed herself for the day, letting the comment simmer in her mind.

As much as she'd tried, only a few Joyful memories were being created compared to dozens of angry ones. Neither Disgust nor fear were being particularly vocal either, content to watch events unfold disapprovingly.

A few minutes later, Riley was making her way downstairs and Joy was hopeful that things would soon start to improve. She had to be. Sure, Riley was a bit angry now, but she'd soon bounce back.

"Pleasure at seeing her parents," joy smoothly chimed in as they entered the kitchen.

Family had always been a wonderful source of Joy and happiness and it would remain constant, no matter where they moved. It was great that they'd cultivated such a tight- nit family.

"Anger at them being too busy to pay Riley any attention!"

Joy frowned but didn't say anything. It was anger's job to make others aware of when they'd ignored or treated Riley badly so she couldn't argue that this wasn't right.

Due to anger, Riley didn't reply to her mother's somewhat delayed greeting, and she sat down in a huff.

Joy then glanced at Disgust, for she would frequently chime in at meals.

"Cereal's fine as usual," she smoothly reported. "Though a little light so some disgust at portion... there she's going to grab an apple for break."

"Maybe we should grab an extra one, so she could offer it to a potential friend?" Disgust then suggested speculatively.

Joy beamed. "Good idea, some joy at the idea of making friends then," she provided, smiling as Riley grabbed a pair of apples.

A short while later, Riley was heading to the door to go to school. Fear felt it pertinent to speak up then. "Fear at the idea that no one will want to share an apple with her," he said.

"And anger that we haven't already made a friend!" Anger called, causing Riley to close the door more roughly then she might have otherwise.

Joy took a deep breath, realising that somewhere in the last few days, things had accelerated out of control. Anger was burning far too hot and far too easily and it was becoming intrusive to Riley's continued enjoyment and happiness. It was time for her to address the issue.

"I don't think Riley should be getting so angry and worked up," Joy said, in a clear crisp voice.

Anger turned to her. "What?"

Joy's eyes flickered to the screen, seeing Riley was simply walking to school and Fear was hovering nearby to keep her safe. This would be her best opportunity to do something much as she hated to.

"I know there's been a lot of different circumstances where it's been easy to get angry," she began carefully. "But we said we were going to do our best to stay happy - like her parents wanted - and that means less anger, right?"

"You can't pretend that there's any reason to be happy, Joy!" Anger bit back, his large eyes staring determined into her own.

"Oh there's tons of reasons if we try! The house really isn't so bad and San Francisco is a really cool city, we just haven't really explored it yet," Joy replied eagerly, gesturing wildly as she spoke.

"That's nonsense! We've left everything important in Minnesota, like friends and ice hockey and all our possessions. And not to mentions how busy the parents have been. You can't keep pretending that we're in some sort of magical situation," Anger ranted, quickly getting worked up.

Joy bit her lip; usually she didn't get into fights, they were pretty unpleasant. Still, she needed to think of Riley's state of mind.

"Yeah, well I'm trying to solve things and I know that everything will brighten up. Anyway, remember what Riley promised to her parents?"

They'd asked her to remain happy in the face of moving, keeping hope through the uncertain time. All of the other emotions had agreed to this, albeit with reluctance.

Anger continued to glower but he didn't rebuke her point. Indeed a moment later, he gave her a short nod.

"Right, so to do that I think we need a little less anger," she continued. She turned away from their controls, waltzing deeper into the room, confident that all eyes would be on her.

"Now this is just temporary mind," Joy assured him, which just made Anger's scowl deepen. "But if you come over here, there's this very important circle."

Joy gestured towards a circle drawn on the ground in chalk, large enough for one person to stand comfortably. It was one of her newer ideas.

"Don't patronise me Joy," Anger cut in, standing before said circle. "I know that's your Circle of Sadness."

Joy let out a nervous half-hearted laugh. "Actually, it's the new and improved Circle of Anger while we're going through a tough time," she replied.

"I'm not just going to stand in there, that's outrageous!" Anger practically roared at her, clenching both his fists menacingly.

However, Joy was quite used to his displays of fury so she merely shifted uncomfortably. "Please don't be mad, it's only for a little while and it's for the best," she gestured around the room, at the new memories, the still gleaming core memories and the large screen.

"No way am I standing in there," Anger continued to protest.

"But it's very important," Joy explained, attempting a reassuring grin for all the good it would do. "Umm, right Disgust?" She called at the cool green emotion.

Disgust rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. "Well you chilling for a day is probably safer, lashing out at others isn't very endearing," she offered.

Joy shot her a thankful look, relieved at getting some support. She'd always gotten on rather well with Disgust, relying on her for many important choices with her very discerning eyes.

Anger directed his annoyance at Disgust but she too was unfazed, casually reclining against the controls booth. He looked towards Fear who had been eyeing the conversation warily but Fear just looked away hurriedly and shakily looked at the screen where Riley was still walking.

Anger let out a noise that might have been a fearsome growl, even baring his teeth at Joy. "Fine then. One day. You'll be wishing for me to leave my Circle of Anger by the end of it, Joy."

Joy frowned, not liking the very personal note, because she really hadn't wanted to upset him - it wasn't personal at all. But she stayed silent as he hunched over and walked into the Circle. He then crossed his arms and shot her another glare, as if challenging her.

She broke eye contact with him and uncomfortably turned away, flitting over to the screen, fully aware of him standing furiously behind him, despite his silence.

Neither Disgust nor Fear broke the silence so it seemed to stretch on as they watched Riley slowly approach her school. Joy soon realised she'd have to be the one to speak and reassure them that things would be alright.

"Thank you Anger, really. I appreciate that you're there because we asked but don't worry because I will make sure that it's all worth it in the end," Joy said, pushing genuine gratitude into her voice.

"I won't let any of you down."

* * *

 **What did you think? Lots from the other emotions, it's rather interesting writing their interactions. Disgust is a rather hard character to pin down.**

 **Now when the emotions are talking about Riley's choices and actions I'm a little uncertain if they should speak of it like someone else is making the choices or with an inclusive 'we' and I'm not sure if I was consistent with that so hopefully it's not distracting.**

 **I'm rather enjoying writing a plot so hope you're liking it too. I probably don't really need to say this given how many of you chose to review but still I will reiterate that I would appreciate if you left a review with your thoughts, they're very encouraging.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Train of Thought

**Hey there, got great news about my life! I'm going to Uni this September, my A level results came on Thursday after much dreaded waiting.**

 **Less stellar news about this story as I ended up writing a somewhat boring transition chapter but I want to offer at least something this week. After all I'm thankful for all the feedback I'm receiving.**

* * *

It was a quiet journey to the train station. Sadness found herself amusing herself by turning memory orbs blue as she plodded along the seemingly endless halls. Giving them a touch of sadness wasn't a bad thing anyway, as much as the other emotions disagreed. It was all about reflection.

Sadness had been pondering what the others would think about her, and what was the right thing to do. The problem was that she didn't really understand their emotions and they couldn't really comprehend sadness either. It has always been their greatest problem even. Joy had always been particularly bad with understanding though not for lack of trying.

Sometimes she wished she could explain to Joy how important her emotion was but no sooner would she think that before quickly dismissing the idea. She was quite unable to strike up a conversation and, even if she could, she didn't have the words to convey her feelings. She hadn't yet come up with a way to present her worth through actions either, not when her influence was so subtle.

She sighed audibly, ignoring O Rly's inquisitive look. She was going back now either way and she could only hope that Joy would begin to appreciate her work. Riley was growing up after all.

Slowly the shiny train station came into view, and it sure was a pretty sight. Some parts of the mind had a simple elegance and this station was no exception. Smooth brassy steps gently lead up into a pale white platform that was absolutely impeccable with it's beautiful old-looking arches holding up narrow bridges that lead to the other side, equally pristine.

She followed her companion up the steps (the ground fortunately less slippery than it looked) and tried to make sense of the lit up signs that were rather hard to miss. Fortunately, she'd always been rather good at deciphering seemingly straightforward information and she contented herself with the idea that the train would be travelling at the speed of thought.

Sure enough, no sooner had O Rly bartered his way past a train fare before the train chose that moment to arrive, delivering all sorts of thoughts and nerves and workers to their desired station. Plus it gave off the most delightful hoots.

Indeed, it was something of a flurry that exited the moment the doors opened. Standing so near the doors as she was, she couldn't help but try to make herself seem smaller, unnoteworthy. She dreaded the idea that someone would recognise her as Sadness and she'd feel judging eyes on her.

The crowd didn't spare her a second thought fortunately and she quickly scampered aboard the train, sitting down the moment a pair of seats presented itself. She'd actually made it on the train. Her companion took the one next to her.

The train took off smoothly, and she tried to relax even as familiar worries began to plague her mind once again. She could feel an air of disgruntlement in her surroundings, from other mind workers, quietly and not so quietly grumbling, and knew that things for Riley had not yet been solved.

It was likely that the base would be chaotic. Delving right into pandemonium was frightful and yet she couldn't very well just wait, could she? Would the misery she'd inevitably bring with her help or cause more trouble? Was Riley alright?

Well she'd find out, as the train would have to arrive. While it had been difficult to convince herself to board the train, it would be possibly even harder to force herself to leave now that she was on.

She couldn't help but wonder at the different choices she'd made that had lead to her being there. Truthfully, Sadness hated the idea of regrets and as a result tried not to make too many decisions so it was rather hard to pinpoint any one thing that has lead to her being on the train.

She'd walked on herself, yes. But only at the expectation of O Rly, who thought she ought to be on the train because he thought she ought to return to the HQ. He'd decided for her, and she had hardly thought to protest.

Earlier then, Sadness had asked him to stay with her rather than leave. If she hadn't then she'd likely have just stood at the end of the hall of Discarded Dreams for hours, until someone else came along to spur her into action. She couldn't possibly regret speaking up in that moment, and she felt a small bit of pride for it even.

There had been an earlier moment, where she'd made another decision though. She'd asked O Rly about the then mysterious corridor when he'd first approached her. She hadn't needed to mention it but she'd chosen to. Could she regret such a simple question?

But if she'd not said anything then she'd likely have been utterly alone. Perhaps she would have stood in that crossroads for hours, plagued with indecision?

Before then, before she'd fallen, Sadness had made a choice to go after the Core Memory, to keep it safe from Joy. She'd also chosen to touch one of Riley's happier memories, making it become sadder. Those were the choices to regret.

If she hadn't tried to save the new Core Memory then she'd never have fallen and she'd never have to decide whether to return and she would know what was happening. It would have been simpler and probably less unpleasant.

Sadness looked down at her lap, where the orb still sat, looking harmless. It was remiss of her to forget its importance. She could speculate endlessly on all that might have happened but she'd already chosen the Core Memory and she would stick with it until the bitter end if necessary.

O Rly intervened into her admittedly pointless speculations then. "By the way, I can't really go all the way up to the top with ye, not really my place, see?" He said, and it sounded slightly rehearsed. He'd probably been hoping to break the silence for some time.

Sadness nodded, glad to be drawn out of her thoughts. Then she paused, trying to think of a more substantial reply. "It's no problem."

"Well I'm pretty sure this train stops in the dream studios anyway, it's like the last stop actually," he replied.

"And you'll get off there," Sadness surmised, slumping further in her seat.

He shrugged. "Well you'll get off too, unless you fancy being in an empty train all night, the train of thought doesn't really run after night after all."

Sadness ran a hand through her hair, feeling a shiver of anxiety. "I had thought of that," she confessed.

O Rly granted her an easy smile. "I think you'll seeing dreams being made, and it's only one more night. What's the worst that could happen?"

His rhetorical question seemed to conjure up an image of that scene in that movie where the dog died. Was it bad to suddenly be worrying about a dog dying when she didn't even have a dog? She shook her head, vigorously.

"Right," she answered, and they once again lapsed into silence.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and please do review!**

 **Next chapter will be set in dreams studio so things should pick up a bit. I'm starting to think I really love writing Joy far more than Sadness, maybe I just worry I emphasise her shyness too much. I'm fairly shy myself so I wanted her worries about speaking up to sound realistic.**

 **(Side note -Anyone got any any cool Joy-centric prompts I could try?)**


	6. Introspection

_At the Headquarters_

"I don't understand it!" Joy proclaimed, staring at the large monitor intensely with an uncommon frown across her face.

Disgust stared at the screen dourly. "What's not to get? Riley's smiles are all coming across as too forced and desperate. I'm sure I explained to you earlier that we wanted to look cool to the other kids, not act… like this."

Their mission to make a few friends had not come to fruition by the end of another school day and Riley had become scared and ended up sitting alone during recess and lunch. Anger had so far resisted straying over to the controls (aside from a few quickly-forgotten fist clenches briefly when the teacher had been a touch too condescending when Riley struggled with a question for too long, her mind occupied with other things), but Riley hadn't relaxed and become her usual cheery self.

"But it wasn't working and I wanted Riley to seem happier again. I think you're overdoing a bit with the distasteful angle because we know they'll her more if she seems more fun and cheerful," Joy replied defensively, a few unnecessary gestures thrown in for good measure.

Disgust was unimpressed and merely crossed her arms. "Since when do we know that?"

"All Riley needs to do to make friends is to be herself, alright? And she is a generally happy, cheerful person who loves to have fun and play ice-hockey." Joy pointed out, dancing over to the golden core memories safely stored in the centre of the room.

Disgust nodded reluctantly. "Yes, but Riley isn't feeling like herself right now and you can't push it too far; it made Riley seem odd and unapproachable."

"It's a serious problem too, the window of opportunity for making new friends is quickly closing – she's already been at this new school for two whole days!" Fear lamented, and spread some of that worry onto Riley's current state of mind.

Joy dashed back over to the controls. "Stop that, Fear! Riley really doesn't need you adding on to all her worries right now. It's already a stressful time," she snapped, a touch more harshly than she intended.

Fear blinked at her for a second, taken aback. Then he responded: "but Joy, we need to face reality. What if we don't make any new friends?"

"We will! Let us be optimistic this is all just a minor setback, okay?" Joy insisted, looking back and forth between Disgust and Fear. Neither of them seemed to share her hope.

"What do you mean minor setback? This is a major setback!" A loud voice erupted behind them. Joy turned to face Anger, walking towards them.

"I thought you were going to stay in the circle until tomorrow," Joy gestured, running up to the theoretical 'circle of Anger' before bouncing back again.

"It's not working though, is it! Riley looks lost as ever and she'd probably feel way better if she can release all that anger!" Anger roared stomping over to the monitor.

On the screen Riley was staring at her feet and moving slowly, impossible to please. Whenever she looked up, she saw her empty room and it seemed to reinforce her bad mood. The moving van still hadn't come and she seemed to be in a negative spiral. Joy had been having huge difficulty in lifting her spirits, though not for lack of trying.

And Joy wasn't about to give up either. She leapt up in front of Anger to stop him from getting any closer to the controls. She wasn't nearly as strong as the stocky red emotion though and fell back on trying to persuade him to back down.

"Please Anger, not now. I can still fix this if you let me. I will show Riley that there are still things to be happy about and that will fix everything as she might start to like living in San Francisco. That's what we need to do."

Anger didn't knock her over so she supposed her persuasion was a success. At least Riley had made the ice hockey try-outs earlier, that was one thing that had generated happy memories today. Everything else seemed to have been spoiled by other feelings recently.

After a short pause, Anger spoke up in a more measured tone. "I still think that San Francisco is the problem, don't pretend that it's the cure."

Disgust replied in her unaffected cool tone. "It's not inherently bad though, it's simply how you approach the situation. I don't think there's anything to do other than let Joy take care of things."

Joy met Disgust's eyes and gave her a thankful smile. It was good to have someone still on her side. Lately everything had felt far too antagonistic. She hoped things would start to improve soon.

* * *

Sadness stood by the entrance of the massive dream studios, slightly dazed by the amount of activity as all sorts of workers and ideas moved with the kind of energy she usually associated with Joy. It had to be very late then and that meant she'd spent a whole day away from the HQ. She wondered how the others were, and how Riley was doing.

Riley probably didn't realise she was missing part of herself; under Joy's influence of course, Riley might not realise there was a sad, sombre part of herself. But Riley was growing up and adults couldn't afford to just be silly all the time – they had to be serious and the probably had lots of sad memories. Perhaps Joy just didn't want Riley to change and grow up though – it was a scary thought.

Contrary to what Joy thought though, Sadness didn't want Riley to become cold and miserable. She had never wanted to enforce unhappiness but that didn't change the fact that it was sometimes necessary. If you're not sometimes sad then it would grow harder to be properly serious and thoughtful when it mattered.

Joy didn't really think about the future, but that was okay because it was Sadness and Fear's job and they'd help her if she allowed them to. Not even Joy had enough influence and spirit to do everything by herself, no matter how committed she was.

Finally, Sadness slipped into the building, passing actors that Joy would probably be awestruck by, and followed the momentum of the crowd forward. As she'd hoped, a massive glistening sign proclaimed that she was entering the set of the dream studios, where they would be preparing an exciting dream for the night. All around her props were being hastily placed in order to form a scene – in particular one within a classroom.

Sadness frowned slightly, fearing that they were deciding to do the anxiety dream yet again. That tended to occur whenever Riley was feeling slightly stressed or worried. Generally a more fanciful, fun dream left Riley in a better mood. This one had her embarrassing herself in the middle of a crowded classroom and everyone laughing at her.

She sighed, but she didn't want to get in trouble by interfering. The dreams were carefully chosen in order to perfectly illustrate some of Riley's thoughts and feelings. She wasn't really sure how to make sweeter dreams anyway and she could end up accidentally making things worse.

She found a soft seat in a corner to sit down in and stay out of the way while Riley slept. She wouldn't be getting in anyone's way here though in a few hours she'd be returning to the HQ and would have to face Joy and the other emotions. She could only hope it would go alright and the Riley wasn't doing too badly.

On an adjacent seat she spotted a discarded paper and picked it up with a touch of curiosity. She'd been rather out of the loop all day and maybe the news would be able to cheer her up. Papers were printed essentially whenever something Riley considered noteworthy occurred.

Distressingly, the front cover proclaimed "Alone, Friendless in the World." Oh dear. A closer read revealed how Riley had been arguing with her parents, still had none of her possessions and how she hated school.

Had Joy really failed to cheer up Riley? Would Sadness be able to do anything to help or would it be better if she stayed far away? Sadness threw the paper away and curled up in her chair, lost in thought.

* * *

 **Long time no update. I looked back at my stories and realised I wanted to write another chapter for this so here it is! I think I'll need to re-watch the movie at some point to get more inspiration.**

 **A bit of introspection from Sadness and some more chaos at the HQ that I enjoy writing way too much! I could write about Joy, Disgust, Anger and Fear arguing all day. Ironically, Sadness is far harder to write but I try anyway.**

 **Joy would be the kind to get involved and cause trouble at dream studios but Sadness sort of just sits off to the side passively, not that she doesn't want to change things. Joy's probably too distracted to change the dream to a pleasant memory again unfortunately so Riley will have to suffer through her bad dreams.**

 **Anyway thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review for this!**


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